- By Jim Evans
- Entertainment
Print 
Smart TalkSMART TALK By Dr. Ced Riley
LIE v. LAY: Sometimes, Mr. Passer uses shock to help his students remember. Willy Passer used to teach English at Horace Smith Middle School, near the Institute for the Linguistically Impaired here in Underbelly, Texas.
The kids loved his jokes, but a few parents disapproved, so Mr. Passer was transferred to D.B. Wesson High. (Actually, it was just one parent, but that's all it takes these days.)
At Wesson High, he teaches his juniors the difference between lie and lay as if it were a titillating secret: "Lie is what you do, and lay is what you do to something else! No exceptions."
The students remember that one, and not only because they love having an English rule with no exceptions.
Of course, if anyone makes a fuss (that one parent again), the kids remember it even better. And that's no lie.
---
v4i5